Reinforcement Learning for Unrelated Parallel Machine Scheduling with Release Dates, Setup Times, and Machine Eligibility

Sang-Hyun Cho, Hyun-Jung Kim, Lars Mönch

Abstract: This paper presents a novel approach for solving unrelated parallel machine scheduling problems through reinforcement learning. Notably, we consider three main constraints: release date, machine eligibility, and sequence- and machine-dependent setup time to minimize total weighted tardiness. Our work presents a new graph representation for solving the problem and utilizes graph neural networks combined with reinforcement learning. Experimental results show that our proposed method outperforms traditional dispatching rules and an apparent tardiness cost-based algorithm. Furthermore, since we represent and solve the problem using graphs, our method can be used regardless of the number of jobs or machines once trained.